The North Hudson Sewerage Authority's H1 Screening and Wet Weather Pump Station at 99 Observer Hwy., in Hoboken, which is designed to alleviate the Mile Square City's flooding woes, opened today.

The project began in 2007 and cost $18 million - $5 million from the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which Congressman Albio Sires and Senator Robert Menendez fought for in Washington, D.C., as well as $13 million from rate payers. Neither Sires nor Menendez were able to attend the event.

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner (representing Sires), authority Executive Director Frederic Pocci and Chairman Richard Wolff opened and dedicated the pump station today at 12 p.m. and had high hopes for the station.

Wolff said all of North Hudson has come a long way since the authority's inception in 1988, when its cities - Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City and later also West New York - had inefficient sewer systems. Some lines, he said, were dilapidated wooden sewer systems from the Civil War era that had not been cleaned for 50 years.

While the other three NHSA cities were doing well after having their sewer systems replaced and fixed, Hoboken faced severe flooding during heavy rains and high tides in its low-lying areas which make up 10 to 25 percent of its total area, Wolff said. Recently, since the city's population and development booms, he said, the flooding has become more dangerous.

The pump station, he said, will hopefully solve all of southwest Hoboken's flooding problems and theoretically also help alleviate flooding in other parts of the city. The station has two pumps 30 feet below ground that will each pump about 50 million gallons per day, he said. It also has an electrical generator to help it continue working through very severe rainstorms.

The station, which was designed to complement nearby Lackawanna Tower and Hoboken Terminal by architect John Nastasi, will work in conjunction with the city's sewer monitoring system and will help the authority determine if more pump stations are needed in other areas.

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said, "I cannot overestimate how important this day is...this is the first step in solving a century-old problem." She also noted that the city is exploring other environmentally friendly solutions to its rain problems, like using rain barrels.

Other officials like Hudson County Freeholder Anthony Romano, councilwomen Jen Giattino and Beth Mason, Jersey City Board of Education member Sean Connors were also at the event.